This invention is for novel glutamate receptor antagonists which are new compounds of the substituted quinoxaline 2-ones type. The compounds are active as excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists acting at glutamate receptors, including either or both N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and non-NMDA receptors such as the .alpha.-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor and the kainate receptor. The invention also relates to the use of those quinoxaline 2-ones as neuroprotective agents for treating conditions such as cerebral ischemia or cerebral infarction resulting from a range of phenomena, such as thromboembolic or hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral vasospasms, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrest, status epilepticus, perinatal asphyxia, anoxia such as from drowning, pulmonary surgery, and cerebral trauma, as well as to treat chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinsonism, and Huntington's Disease, and as anticonvulsants. The compounds of the present invention may also be useful in the treatment of schizophrenia, epilepsy, anxiety, pain, and drug addiction. Excessive excitation by neurotransmitters can cause the degeneration and death of neurons. It is believed that this degeneration is in part mediated by the excitotoxic actions of the excitatory amino acids (EAA) glutamate and aspartate at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, the .alpha.-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor, and the kainate receptor. AMPA/kainate receptors may be referred to jointly as non-NMDA receptors. This excitotoxic action is considered responsible for the loss of neurons in cerebrovascular disorders such as cerebral ischemia or cerebral infarction resulting from a range of conditions, such as thromboembolic or hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral vasospasm, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrest, status epilepticus, perinatal asphyxia, anoxia such as from drowning, pulmonary surgery, and cerebral trauma, as well as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Huntington's Disease.
Several classes of quinoxalinedione derivatives have been disclosed as glutamate (EAA) receptor antagonists. For example, among excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists recognized for usefulness in the treatment of disorders are those that block AMPA receptors (Bigge C. F. and Malone T. C., Curr. Opin. Ther. Pat., 1993:951; Rogawski M. A., TiPS, 1993;14:325). AMPA receptor antagonists have prevented neuronal injury in several models of global cerebral ischemia (Li H. and Buchan A. M., J. Cerebr. Blood Flow Metab., 1993;13:933; Nellga.degree.rd B. and Wieloch T., J. Cerebr. Blood Flow Metab., 1992;12:2) and focal cerebral ischemia (Bullock R., Graham D. I., Swanson S., McCulloch J., J. Cerebr. Blood Flow Metab., 1994;14:466; Xue D., Huang Z. -G., Barnes K., Lesiuk H. J., Smith K. E., Buchan A. M., J. Cerebr. Blood Flow Metab., 1994; 14:251). AMPA antagonists have also shown efficacy in models for analgesia (Xu X. -J., Hao J. -X, Seiger A., Wiesenfeld-Hallin Z., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 1993;267:140), and epilepsy (Namba T., Morimoto K., Sato K., Yamada N., Kuroda S., Brain Res., 1994;638:36; Brown S. E., McCulloch J., Brain Res., 1994;641:10; Yamaguchi S. I., Donevan S. D., Rogawski M. A., Epilepsy Res., 1993;15:179; Smith S. E., Durmuller N., Meldrum B. S., Eur. J. Pharmacol., 1991;201:179). AMPA receptor antagonists have also demonstrated promise in chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinsonism (Klockgether T., Turski L., Honore T., Zhang Z., Gash D. M., Kurlan R., Greenamyre J. T., Ann. Neurol., 1993 ;34(4):585-593).
Excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists that block NMDA receptors are also recognized for usefulness in the treatment of disorders. NMDA receptors are intimately involved in the phenomenon of excitotoxicity, which may be a critical determinant of outcome of several neurological disorders. Disorders known to be responsive to blockade of the NMDA receptor include acute cerebral ischemia (stroke or cerebral trauma, for example), muscular spasm, convulsive disorders, neuropathic pain, and anxiety, and may be a significant causal factor in chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (Klockgether T., Turski L., Ann. Neurol., 1993;34:585-593), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) related neuronal injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease (Francis P. T., Sims N. R., Procter A. W., Bowen D. M., J. Neurochem., 1993;60(5):1589-1604), and Huntington's disease. (See Lipton S., TINS, 1993;16(12):527-532; Lipton S. A., Rosenberg P. A., New Eng. J. Med., 1994;330(9):613-622; and Bigge C. F., Biochem. Pharmacol., 1993;45:1547-1561 and references cited therein.) NMDA receptor antagonists may also be used to prevent tolerance to opiate analgesia or to help control withdrawal symptoms from addictive drugs (Eur. Pat. Appl. 488,959A).
The compounds of the instant invention differ from the art in that they provide compounds which have one amide functionality in the quinoxaline mix and a variety of substituents at C-3 position. These structural features provide compounds with greater aqueous solubility and, with the appropriate substitutions have better CNS penetration. These are important attributes in pharmaceuticals.
An object of this invention is to provide novel quinoxaline 2-ones which function as antagonists.